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The Berlin book burning and the raiding of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for sexual science ("Institut für Sexualwissenschaft") in May 1933 is part and parcel of German memorial culture. Due to a rehabilitation and revival of Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935), noticeable in Germany in recent years, many Germans now know that the pivotal LGBT-rights precursor activist died in 1935 in exile in Nice (France), heavily traumatized by the destruction of his life work by the Nazis in Germany.
This is the very first book reporting in detail on what happened in the years 1932–1935 before Hirschfeld’s death and, especially, during the seven years that followed his death.
Besides reporting on Hirschfeld’s last years in France, this volume is the very first biography on Karl Giese and Karl Fein, the main players in the afterlife of Magnus Hirschfeld in France and Czechoslovakia.
This seminal book takes up the thread where Rainer Herrn’s 2023 book, on the history of Hirschfeld’s Institute and the life work of Magnus Hirschfeld ended, in 1932–1933. It can also be read as an extensive contextualizing guide to the facsimile edition of the surviving Hirschfeld guestbook that was published in 2019 (Bergemann, Dose, Keilson-Lauritz & Dubout).
1. Introduction 11
2. Karl Giese and Magnus Hirschfeld 17
3. The September 1932 World League for Sexual Reform Conference in Brno 47
4. The May 1933 Looting of the Institute and the Berlin Book Burning 85
5. Magnus Hirschfeld Lands in Paris and Karl Giese Tests the Waters in Brno 125
6. Karl Fein and the Operation to Buy Back Institute Materials 155
7. Attempts at a New Beginning in France and Czechoslovakia 191
8. Karl Giese’s Paris Bathhouse Affair 223
9. The Handling and Settlement of Magnus Hirschfeld’s Estate in Nice 259
10. What Happened to the Institute and Hirschfeld Materials after Hirschfeld’s Death in Nice? 305
11. Karl Giese Settles Down in Brno for the Third and Last Time 347
12. The Giese-Fein Inheritance Case 389
13. The Holocaust Fates of Karl Fein and His Immediate Family 431
14. What Did Karl Fein Do (and Not Do) with the Hirschfeld and Institute Materials in Brno? One Lead, and a First Approach. 493
15. Kamarád and the Discarding of the Institute Materials 551
16. Dr. Stanislav Kad?rka, Elise Brecher and the Jewish Hospital in Brno 607
17. Concluding Itineraries 671
18. Fear 695
Addenda 707
Archives and Libraries Consulted 767
Bibliography 770
Acronyms and Abbreviations 805
Brno Street Names (German-Czech) 807
Photo and Illustration Credits 809
Index 814
Acknowledgments 837